The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has warned people against flying their drones near the wildfires currently ravaging Pacific Palisades and other parts of Souther California, stressing that such flights could prevent emergency response flights from tackling the ongoing blazes.
“Do not fly your drone near or around areas affected by the L.A. wildfires,” the FAA said in a post on X on Thursday. “Anyone who interferes with emergency response operations may face severe fines and criminal prosecution. If you fly, emergency responders can’t.”
It added: “The FAA has not authorized anyone unaffiliated with the L.A. firefighting operations to fly drones in the TFRs [temporary flight restrictions]. Unauthorized drone flights can delay airborne fire response and pose a threat to firefighters on the ground — allowing wildfires to grow larger … The FAA treats these violations seriously and immediately considers swift enforcement action for these offenses.”
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Drone collision
It’s not clear how many people are putting their drones in the air in a bid to capture aerial imagery of the devastation, but in a statement posted on its website on Thursday, the agency revealed that a firefighting aircraft had struck a drone while it was operating over the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles on the same day.
It added that despite the collision, the aircraft was able to land safely. The FAA has launched an investigation into the incident.
Elaborating on its social media posts, the FAA said that drone flights in restricted areas are punishable by up to 12 months in prison, adding that it could also impose “a civil penalty of up to $75,000 against any drone pilot who interferes with wildfire suppression, law enforcement, or emergency response operations when temporary flight restrictions are in place.”
It emphasized that when a drone is spotted in a restricted zone, it can lead to delays in deploying firefighting aircraft, enabling the wildfires to expand to more areas.
Several major wildfires are continuing to burn in Southern California, with many of them still uncontained, according to the latest reports on Thursday night. Officials have confirmed at least seven deaths, though the figure could rise once investigators are able to properly enter the devastated neighborhoods.